ALBANY – Gov. Kathy Hochul will make good on her threat to pull $1.3 billion in state funds meant for the long-awaited Penn Station overhaul, she said Friday – as negotiations over her massive budget proposal dragged on.
Hochul suggested the cash will go toward initiatives to deal with “fare evasion and other issues” as part of the fiscal year 2026 budget plan, which was due on April 1.
She made the announcement during an impromptu visit to the state capitol’s press quarters just after 5:30 p.m., and said she and the Legislature were “finalizing” the details of her proposed $252 billion budget.
“The process is closing down and we’re getting to a good place,” Hochul said, noting that a deal could be announced as early as Saturday morning.
Last week, Hochul threatened to pull the $1.3 billion pot of cash for Penn after the Trump administration effectively booted the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from leading the project, opting instead to allow Amtrak, which owns the Midtown station, to take over.
She continued framing the Department of Transportation’s move as a victory, saying it put the onus of funding and carrying out the massive project – which she says could run north of $7 billion – on the feds.
“I will just say thank you for taking over this. I expect to see immediate progress given how efficiency is so important to you, and maybe Elon Musk can be in charge of it and get it done really fast, and I’m really looking forward to seeing that,” Hochul said Friday.
She also said she’s fine renaming Penn to “Trump Station” – if The Donald gets the project done.
“It would not be my favorite thing to call it, but it’ll save us $1.3 billion that I’m not planning to spend,” Hochul said.
Talks over the state budget appeared to be nearing a “handshake” resolution following a meeting between Hochul, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) Friday, but no such deal was announced.
“We’re in the final days of wrapping up the numbers, but I feel confident it’ll be done by the end of this month,” Hochul said during an interview with Newschannel 9 in Syracuse earlier on Friday.
Stewart-Cousins signaled to reporters she was optimistic that a deal would be reached that would allow the legislature to begin voting on the enormous package next week.
“I think next week you all will be very busy,” she said, adding, “Most of the top line is done.”
Talks were largely stalled for weeks as the governor refused to agree to changes lefty lawmakers had sought to her proposal to change laws around how evidence is presented ahead of criminal trials that the legislature passed in 2019.
“It’s a little bit complicated, but basically what has been happening under laws that were enacted in 2019 — and I stand behind the original intent behind those laws, but now we have so many cases that are being dismissed, really on technicalities,” Hochul said.
The post Hochul will make good on threat to pull $1.3B from Penn Station overhaul after Trump booted MTA from project appeared first on New York Post.
